SOLYNDRA-GATE: Executives To Plead The Fifth

Executives from the bankrupt solar company Solyndra, the subject of multiple probes
relating to a $535 million loan from the Obama administration,
have backed out of a congressional hearing this Friday and are
set to plead the Fifth instead of testifying.

The House Energy and Commerce committee received letters today
from lawyers representing Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison and
CFO W.G. Stover
saying they would not testify. The two executives
previously informed the committee that they would testify without
invoking the Fifth amendment to the Constitution.

But Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) said in
a statement that they would continue the probe without them.

“Our investigation has gotten this far without much cooperation
from Solyndra, and it will continue with or without their
voluntary testimony," they said.

Last week, officials from the White House Office of Management
and Budget and the Department of Energy testified that the Obama
administration did not speed up the review process for the loan
as some assert. The loan was awarded weeks after the company's
auditors raised alarm about the company's finances and future.

"It’s disappointing that the officials who canvassed the halls of
Congress in mid-July and misled our members about the financial
state of their company are now unwilling to answer direct
questions, but any effort to cover up the truth will ultimately
not succeed. We will not allow stonewalling by DOE, OMB,
Committee Democrats, Solyndra, or anyone else to stop this
investigation into what happened to half a billion dollars of the
taxpayers’ money.

“Both Mr. Stover and Mr. Harrison will be sworn in under oath
this Friday. We have many questions for Solyndra’s executives on
their dealings with the Obama administration, their efforts to
secure federal support for a project that appeared doomed from
the outset, and why they made certain representations to Congress
regarding their dire financial situation just two months ago. We
would encourage Mr. Harrison and Mr. Stover to reconsider this
effort to dodge questions under oath and hide the truth from
those American taxpayers who are now on the hook for their $500
million bust.”